Hi Mark,

It's a bit hard for me to follow all of what you are saying. The logic of thinking about thinking can get complicated.

I like to stay with what I'm trying to explain. When it comes to consciousness and awareness, there are many aspects to it that we experience that probably need to be pinpointed before taking the next steps.

I assume most people are trying to explain the seeming miracle of their own experience. Why can they feel joy or anger, and why do they have a feeling associated with a place or particular smell, and how they feel awe? That kind of thing.

I also suspect that these experiences feel so mysterious and exalted that people want something more than just brain chemistry to explain it.

But to them I submit the idea that brain chemistry, and life itself is noting close to ordinary. Even electrons are staggering to consider. The emergence of life is stunning. Consciousness doesn't seem lessoned by any of this. Not in the least. Awareness being synaptic activity doesn't make it pedestrian or less mysterious. All the mystery you could ever want remains as deep as ever.